Identifying Foods, Without Sense of Smell

http://library.thinkquest.org/3750/taste/taste.html
http://catalog.nucleusinc.com/generateexhibit.php?ID=2458

Broad Question

Can someone identify taste without using smell?

Specific Question

Can someone identify taste with their nose plugged?


http://www.medicalook.com/human_anatomy/organs/Mouth.html

Variables

Independent Variable: Food

Dependent Variable: Average Percentage of Foods Guessed Correctly

Variables That Need To Be Controlled

Different person tasting, blindfolds, foods, nose plugs.

Hypothesis

I hypothesize that someone can taste without using smell.

Graph of Hypothesis

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Experimental Design

I will be conducting my experiment at home and at a friends house so I can get her brothers to test too. I will blind fold them and have them test one of the foods and then tell me what it is. I will have twenty trials. Each trial will be done with nose plugged and unplugged. They will taste the food, tell me what it is, then rinse their mouth out with water, then test the next food. I will record all the data in a data table that I will be making. I will also put together a slide show of pictures I took while doing my tests, in which I will show during the science fair.

Materials List

• Nose plugs
• Blind folds
• Cups of apple, cranberry, and blueberry sauce
• Spoons
• Cups of water
• 20 people

Detailed Procedure

1. 20 people to test
2. Buy the foods with same texture. (apple sauce, blueberry sauce, and cranberry sauce.
3. Buy nose plugs
4. Get everyone together one day
5. Cover their eyes
6. Have them taste one food.
7. Rinse their mouth out with water.
8. Repeat steps 6 and 7 two more times.
9. Record the data collected. The data I am collecting is how many people can identify foods with there nose plugged and unplugged.
10. Wait a day.
11. Gather the same 20 people.
12. Collect data with plugged noses.
13. Record the collected data.

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Background Research

1. Information: Olfactory sensory neurons, that are specialized sensory cells, are in a small patch of tissue that is connected to the brain. There are receptors that get activated every time there is an odor around.
2. Information: The large bumps on our tongue are called fungi-form papillae. The small bumps are taste buds. Most of the taste receptors are found on the palate or the back of the throat. And those help us taste! 3. Information: Your tongue and the roof of your mouth are covered with thousands of tiny taste buds. When you eat something, the saliva in your mouth helps break down your food. This causes the receptor cells located in your tastes buds to send messages through sensory nerves to your brain. 4. Information: Then the cells send signals along your olfactory nerve to the brain. Our sense of smell is connected really well to our memory. You’re always smelling are these tiny things called odor particles.

References

1. Source:
Anissmov, Michael, and Bronwyn Harris. "How Does Sense of Taste Work?." http://www.wisegeek.com/how-does-the-sense-of-taste-work.htm. 12 Oct. 2011. Web. 25 Jan. 2012.
2. Source:

"Smell 101> How does sense of smell work?." http://www.senseofsmell.org/smell101-detail.php?id=1&lesson=How%20Does%20the%20Sense%20of%20Smell%20Work?. Fragrance Foundation, 2012. Web. 25 Jan. 2012.

3. Source:

"Your Sense of Smell." http://library.thinkquest.org/3750/smell/smell.html. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Feb. 2012.
4. Source

"Your Sense of Taste." http://library.thinkquest.org/3750/taste/taste.html. 6 May 2004. Web. 8 Feb. 2012.

Photo List

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Results

Data Table

Graphs

Photos

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Data Analysis

Conclusion

The original purpose of my experiment was to find out if people can taste without smell. I found out that yes people can taste without their sense of smell, even though the smell and taste senses are connected.With the people I used to test this theory I found out that they can actually taste better than when their nose is unplugged. At first I couldn't believe this, so I did three trials with them, but the evidence stacks up, they can taste better without there sense of smell.

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Discussion

My hypothesis was that people can taste without their sense of smell. My results did support my hypothesis. There were some patterns in this experiment. For example, each trial per taste didn't vary much, except when they plugged their nose then there was some variation. The results only varied between 30 to 45-51 on Average Percentage of Food Guessed Correctly. The relationship between the independent and dependent variables were that, if you changed people then the percentage of food guessed correctly will change as well. This depends on how well they taste and how well they plug their nose. The test was moved along quickly because I understood the concept, and the steps were easy for me to follow. I did have to redo the experiment because some of my testers couldn't make it and I already had some of their data down.
If I could improve my experiment, I would test within two days, and have them rinse their mouths out better. For a future study I would use different foods with the same texture, other than just apple sauce types.